I can only speak for myself (but that doesn’t mean I don’t have my biases) but I believe that the “oil temperature issue” isn’t much of a problem and is about 90% a matter of perception.
The only 370s which will likely have a true oil temperature problem are those that are tracked - the 370; like the 350 before it and, frankly, like most consumer/street vehicles not purpose built with track use in mind, are always going to need an engine oil cooler…that really shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone.
While there are plenty of anecdotal stories; there seems to be little consistency with who is and who isn’t experiencing a problem and all the stories that do exist are just that, stories filtered through each story teller’s frame of reference. I’m not in any way suggesting people are lying; just that “aggressive/very aggressive” driving on a “hot” day can mean vastly different things from person to person. What is truly needed and what hasn’t happened yet, at least as far as I know, is a scientific study under controlled conditions to establish how hot the engine oil gets and under what precise circumstances.
That brings up another point. While there are many, many opinions and feeling about “how hot is too hot”; other than opinions and feelings, I’ve yet to see anyone demonstrate that temperatures, in this engine, and with today’s oils, 220 or 230 or 240 or even up to 260 degree oil temps are truly causing any harm to the engine/engine life. Again, what is really needed is an objective and unemotional study to look at all the factors.
Let’s also remember that Nissan has a solution (or at least a feature) in place to preserve the engine for temps in the 280 and above range in that it limits engine revs until the temp lowers (the “limp” feature). Some feel that could be a safety concern but I’m not so sure; the available power from the 370 at, say, revs limited to 5K still probably gives more performance (acceleration/passing ability, etc.) than many, many vehicles on the road today at 100% of their power so I’m not quite so sure that a decrease in available engine power is really a safety concern. I’ll grant you it’s inconvenient and not fun but I don’t think it’s quite the issue some fell it is.<o></o>
Finally, I leave you with my owe story…I’ve got over 12K miles on my 370Z which has included mountain roads; deserts, many runs down the Tail of the Dragon, stop-and-go interstate traffic and autocrossing and have done it all in Winter, Spring and Summer temps with many days exceeding 100 degrees) and I’m a fairly aggressive driver (although I am not an out of control idiot on public roads)…through all that, I’ve seen my oil temps as high as the 240ish but have never see temps as high as reported by some nor have ever gotten close to limp mode.<o></o>
All that so say, while I’d feel better if my temps never went above 220; I don’t think the “engine oil temperature problem” is really that much of a problem nor do I think someone “shouldn’t” buy a 370 because of it. Also, we know that if oil temps are truly that much of a concern, spending a few hundred more dollars completely fixes the problem; real or otherwise.
So…does any of the above help you? I don’t know…I just offer it an observation after 12K miles and almost 7 months of having my 370.
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Robert
-My Basset Hound Is Smarter Than Your Honor Student and Barack Obama -
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